River's New Life
by keytreevangumpull
Summary: So, River stumbles into the TARDIS unexpectedly to find the Doctor in a state. Smut ensues. Skip to Chapter 2 to avoid the smut and get on with the story. :D
1. Something Unexpected

**A/N: So, River gets an unexpected surprise when she hides in the TARDIS. This chapter is almost complete smut, so if you want to avoid that, read the summary at the very end of the next chapter. I just added it now. I do not own Doctor Who. All reviews are welcome, but this is my first try, so please be nice!**

Chapter 1: Something Unexpected

River rushed into the TARDIS and slammed the door, slumping against it.

"Doctor?" she called, noticing the console room was empty. Receiving no reply, she stood up, locked the door, and wandered over to the console. "Is he in here, old girl?" she asked, gazing up at the TARDIS with a faint smile. The TARDIS hummed an affirmative. Glancing nervously at the door, River went to work at the controls, sending the TARDIS into the vortex without a bump. After a moment, River pulled the monitor over to face her and smiled in relief. The things she had been fighting were now far behind her, both in time and space.

Just then, there was a noise, and River spun around. The Doctor stood there, wearing a bathrobe and looking haggard, like he needed sleep. River smiled. "Doctor!" she said, and took a step forward.

The Doctor gave a shout and stumbled back. River stopped, confused. The Doctor wrapped an arm across his nose and mouth and stared at her in horror.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice muffled by the terrycloth.

River took a cautious step forward. "I was just stopping in for a visit, Sweetie. That is all right, isn't it?"

The Doctor started to reply, but River stepped forward and pulled his arm from his face. "What? Am I contagious, or something?" And then she realized what the look on his face and the reluctance to breathe meant, and she stumbled back. "Oh. Oh, no."

The Doctor stared at her, and slowly his pupils dilated until there was hardly any green in his eyes. His lips drew back, revealing teeth that she didn't remember being that sharp. Her breathing quickened, and his nostrils flared. "Now, Sweetie…" Desperately, she groped at the console behind her, her hands searching. Without warning, the Doctor lunged. River screamed…

And lashed out, jabbing the needle in her hand hard into the Doctor's neck. He stiffened in surprise, then fell back, flopping to the floor with a thud, unconscious. River gasped, hyperventilating, and dropped the needle. She had known this day would come, had put the needle there for that reason, but she hadn't anticipated how awful it would feel to press it into him, push the plunger down. She had maimed and even killed before, but she loved him; that made it worse, that made it matter. Quickly, she knelt and checked his pulse. It was normal. Shakily, she stood and set about preparing things.

From the bathroom, she got some aspirin, one of which she swallowed before crushing the rest into water and smearing it about her head and neck, even dripping some in her hair. Then she reached into her secret cabinet, which only she and the TARDIS knew about, and produced an unopened box of condoms. She wasn't sure whether she would be able to use them in time, but they needed to be nearby, just in case. Then, she changed into a tight leather jumpsuit and made her way deeper into the TARDIS. Along the way, she left clues and tools, to make things easier. She didn't really want to get anything more than flesh wounds.

The Doctor woke up with his nose first, sniffing before he even opened his eyes. Ah. There she was. He noticed a throbbing in his neck, and probed at it experimentally. Ouch. There was the bruise, and a little bit of tearing from the rough entry. He opened his eyes and bared his teeth predatorily; he could see the trail of her scent in the air, an alluring deep indigo-blue color. The Time-Lord ached with a centuries old instinctual need for his wife. He stepped forward.

River, meanwhile, had locked herself in her room, leaving the key somewhat farther down the hall. Quickly, she rubbed off her makeup, and dressed the bed. Then she took everything that was not the bed and pushed it into her closet, which widened in order to accommodate the contents of her room. After casting a critical eye across it, she reached into a drawer and splashed citrus oil liberally across the blankets. Then, she waited. Soon, she heard a sound in the hall, half snarling, half whimpering. It was time.

The Doctor stopped just inside the hallway and examined the thing he had stepped on. A small brass key. Through his hormone-addled brain came the thought that this must be River's key. After all, it was covered with her scent. He picked it up, and the increase in her scent around him caused him to pause long enough to tear off his clothes, all except the bowtie. Then he went on, carrying the key, until he came to a door which, to his eyes, was currently billowing indigo-blue, River's scent. He tried the handle and growled when he discovered that it was locked. Then he remembered the key.

River watched the lock turn, and trembled, steeling herself. The door swung open, and to the Doctor her scent was now tainted red with fear. He inhaled deeply and smiled.

"River," he purred, slinking toward her. Then he jumped towards her suddenly, and she squeaked and tried to jump aside, so that he landed on her legs. He growled and kicked the door shut behind him, then yanked, so that River was sent crashing to her knees. Roughly, he forced her to her lean forward on her hands in front of him, straddled her hips…

…And shoved. River gasped, and he growled in frustration. He hadn't noticed her leather jumpsuit, and he shoved again. River moaned as he pushed the leather two inches inside of her; it had been designed not to have any give, so that the forced attempt tightened the leather painfully around her chest and neck. Still growling, he flipped her over and tried again. When that approach didn't work, he sat back and cocked his head, growling in frustration.

River took his momentary distraction as a chance to reach out and grab his member. At once, he howled and jerked in surprise, then bared his teeth. River let go, and just in time, for the next moment, he landed on her chest, his face in hers, growling. She turned her head and closed her eyes, careful not to make eye contact. Then, she felt his hand on her face.

The Doctor didn't understand what had happened. He should be inside of her by now. But, for some reason, something was stopping him. And then, while he contemplated what to do now, she had grabbed him. The feel of her hand was too much for him in his feral state, and he had almost exploded all over her. He pulled away and flattened himself against her. He finally decided that the problem was that she didn't want him, and he knew he had to fix that. He grabbed her chin, turned it to face him, and kissed her.

River made a noise of surprise against his mouth, and the Doctor took the opportunity to push his tongue into her mouth. River moaned. Even half-crazed, the Doctor knew how to get her riled. She circled his tongue with hers, and pushed it into his mouth. He stilled.

The Doctor suddenly grabbed the back of her head, pressed it against his, and bit down on her tongue. As he had predicted, she struggled, but he sighed as his industrial-strength pheromones drained into her blood stream. She stopped struggling after a minute, then hung limp. Satisfied, he unclamped his teeth and leaned back, examining her, giving his venom a moment to take effect. While he waited, he looked around. Something caught his eye, and he smiled, reaching down and tossing River over his shoulder.

River barely noticed him picking her up. All she could think about was her sudden intense need, and she moaned as her legs swung and bumped into each other, stimulating her now-very-sensitive Time Lady parts. She did, however, notice when she was tossed down onto something that bounced, and the Doctor landed on top of her. She moaned again, and hazily realized he must have moved her to the bed. Then he leaned over next to her head.

The Doctor mustered all his brain power to whisper "_Why can't I get inside you?_" River moaned in answer, grinding her hips against his. His mind went blank, and he whimpered. River stopped, and her hands fluttered at her throat. The Doctor realized that there was a zipper there, and desperately he grabbed it between his fingers and yanked it down, so that it folded away to reveal her clavicle to crotch. River gasped at the sudden cold against her skin, then pulled her arms out of the sleeves and kicked her legs, freeing them. The Doctor leaned over and yanked it out from under her, tossing it aside. Then he froze, his face inches from hers, breathing deeply.

River realized he must have smelled the oil. The oil meant to hide the aspirin on her face and hair. His gaze became sharper for an instant, and then he growled and pressed his mouth to her throat. River moaned, first with pleasure, then with pain as he bit down against her jugular. Dreamily, she kissed her mind goodbye at the rush of hormones filling her. Then she moaned. The Doctor unclamped his mouth from her neck, and licked at the wound in apology. River tried to focus on what she held in her hand- a condom- but at that moment, the Doctor flipped her over and pinned her against the sheets, oblivious to her struggles. He again straddled her hips, and…

…thrust, hard, filling her completely in one smooth motion. River jumped, startled, and tears streamed down her face. The Doctor noticed, and he instinctively knew this wasn't right. Leaning back, he looked closer at the point where they joined and realized that below it, the sheets were slowly turning a wet, dark red. _Oh._

River held still- she hadn't expected losing her virginity to hurt this much. The Doctor leaned over and kissed her neck, sucking and nibbling down the curve to the top of her spine. Then, he slowly placed his mouth over the bite mark he had made a moment ago and fitted his teeth into it, gently. A new substance oozed into her blood stream, and River sighed at the relief it provided. Then, all the hormones he had injected into her moments ago came flooding back and she ground her hips. He removed his teeth from her neck and hunched over her, pinning her arms. Slowly, he began to thrust, and then faster and faster, River whimpering beneath him. Larger and larger he grew, filling River, till he was so big that he could barely pull back to thrust, River making small noises of need and pleasure beneath him. Higher and higher he went, the world swirling away beneath him, she felt so good, he was the first, he was going to cum… He was going to cum. He slowed and River mewled in protest. "River?"

River heard his voice, but didn't respond, hoping he would continue. But he didn't.

"River, I'm going to cum. I can't even pull out of you, I'm stuck." River made a noise; so what? Why was he stopping for this? "And, River, if I cum… you _will_ get pregnant. Do you want that? Because otherwise we're stuck like this." River thought about it for a second, or tried to; but in the end, the lust of her own body and the pheromones finely-tuned to her that he had injected in a rather unorthodox way won out, and she answered by jamming her hips back against him as far as she could.

The momentary clarity that the Doctor had managed vanished, and he plunged deeper into her, hard and fast. She mewled again, and the noise sent him over the edge. The world crashed around him, and his blood pounded in his ears. Quickly, he filled her with his essence, and there was so much that it overflowed and trickled down between their thighs. This proved too much for River, and she screamed as she came, hard and fast. The Doctor leaned over and pinned her down, snaking one arm under her to play with a hardened nipple. River yelped and her climax continued, driving her higher and higher, until the pleasure was too much and she blacked out.

The Doctor leaned back, letting her rest face down on the bed. He leaned down and slowly slipped himself out of her. Then he reached in and pinched her folds shut to keep his cum inside of her long enough to impregnate her. His eyes were still huge and dark with desire, and his teeth still sharp. He knew that the need to impregnate her would not recede until he actually had. He waited another minute, then, feeling his intentions take effect inside of her, he let go and sat back. Slowly, his eyes returned to normal and his teeth rounded or flattened accordingly. He sighed and looked around at the mess, then headed out to shower and dress before starting on the room.

River woke with a start, disoriented. She was in a night gown, in bed… but not _her_ bed. Without sitting up, she craned her neck. She was in a guest room in the TARDIS, tucked into bed with the covers pulled up and the lights low. Glancing to her left, she noticed that the Doctor was asleep in a large armchair by her bed. She moved to stand, then moaned loudly at the sharp pain between her legs. The noise caused the Doctor to startle awake, and he immediately leaped to her side, grabbing her hand.

"River? Are you alright?" He stared down at her, a concerned look on his face. River stared back helplessly.

"What… happened?" Her voice, ordinarily strong and cocky, trembled and threatened to break, and she tried not to burst into tears.

The Doctor frowned apologetically. "River, I'll explain everything, I promise. But right now, you need to rest. Here, I'll give you something for the pain…" He fumbled with a syringe for a moment, then pressed the needle into the fold of her elbow and pushed the plunger down. The pain and the world, hand in hand, swirled away and darkness descended.

**A/N: So, on to Chapter 2! Press the little arrow thing. I think you'll like it. I hope. Also, review! Reviews are brilliant! And good. And cool.**** What more do you need?**


	2. Explanations

**A/N: Hello all. So, here's the thing. I actually wrote this originally as part of chapter one, but cut it short for later use. So here it is. I do not own Doctor Who. Also, I love reviews, so should you feel the need... (hint hint, nudge nudge). And last but not least, hi Lurkers! **

**A/N take two: Oh, almost forgot. Since the first chapter is pretty smutty, I will be providing a summary at the end of this chapter to give the general gist of the story to those who prefer to avoid the smut. I will post a notice at the beginning of Chapter 1, too. Happy Reading!**

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Chapter 2: An Explanation

The next time River woke up, the Doctor was pacing back and forth in front of her bed. River lay still and watched him move, fast and furious, hands behind his back, and considered what had happened. She had woken up, she remembered, and the area between her legs had hurt… River gave an experimental twitch, and was pleased to discover they no longer hurt so much.

Then, River thought back further. Let's see… she had come into the TARDIS, moved it to safety, and then the Doctor… Oh. River glanced at him again, still pacing, still ignorant that she was awake. She cleared her throat.

The Doctor jumped, startled, then turned and hurried to her side.

"River? How… How are you feeling?" He took her hand and stared into her eyes.

"I'm fine, Doctor." She replied. "Nothing… hurts now." She blushed and looked away. The Doctor cleared his throat and said:

"I can explain, River." he released her hand and sat down in the armchair, leaning forward to look at her. "You know about Time Lord instincts, I assume?" He raised an eyebrow, and waited till she nodded.

"A little."

"Well, here's the thing. You know that women have their… fertile times, right? Well, with Time Lords, unlike most other species, the males also have certain… times. Sure, we're fertile all the time, but the marriage rite of a Time Lord is so intimate that it literally alters the genetic make-up of said Time Lord, even deeper then regeneration. So that, well. Time Lords usually marry other Time Lords, and after a certain amount of time, at certain intervals in a marriage, the Time Lord gets a need to impregnate the  
Time Lady for about a week, unless he has already done so. Usually, it's about 3 months to 3 decades after the actual marriages, with about the same interval each time for the rest of the marriage. So, depending on the number of Time Lords currently out there, it will happen more or less frequently. And it only stops when the Time Lady is well and truly pregnant." The Doctor paused, took a deep breath. "Which you are."

He looked up into River's shocked face and smiled weakly.

River stared at him, mulling it over, taking it in. Pregnant? The TARDIS had said nothing about… But they had used... No, they hadn't, she hadn't been able to…

Around and around her thoughts went, till her head was spinning. She looked away from the Doctor, staring at the wall. Finally, she decided on a course of action. One step at a time… Without looking at the Doctor, she threw back her sheets and swung her legs over the edge of the bed opposite him.

"River!" The Doctor stood up, alarmed, and moved to go to her. But River just held up a hand over her shoulder and, still not looking at him, climbed out of bed and walked out of the room. The Doctor stared after her helplessly, hands by his sides.

River went to the nearest bathroom, crossing her legs while she opened her secret cabinet and pulled out a long, narrow package. Then, she went to the toilet and peed on the stick. Setting it on the edge of the bathtub, facedown, she slowly finished up and went to the sink and washed her hands. Then she stood staring at a wall, trying not to think, until the TARDIS hummed. It was time. She turned around and picked up the stick.

There was a soft knock on the door, and River poked her head around it. The Doctor lifted his head from his hands; the TARDIS had locked the door, preventing him from following her, so he had been left in defeat to wonder about what she was doing.

"River? Are you… What happened?" The Doctor slowly stood up and moved towards her. River stepped in and shut the door.

"Can Iask you something?" Rive asked, not looking at him. "Why didn't you tell me all of this before? Why, when we've been married for months, did you not find even one moment to tell me that there would be a time when you would attack me and basically rape me?" River's voice cracked on the last two words, and she sat on the bed, holding the bedpost for support, and turned her face away to hide her tears.

The Doctor moved closer and carefully wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I… I don't know, love. Maybe I was scared of what you might say, or that you might leave, or… something. I had hoped that I could just park the TARDIS on a random planet when the time came, and just wait it out without you coming in. I tried, you know. It's awful, having to pass those times with no respite. So far, this has been the second time it's happened, and you walked in on the first day." The Doctor rubbed River's back as he talked gently, trying to soothe her.

"I tried, I really did… but the thing is, once I smelled you, there was nothing I could do. My animal instincts took over, and…" The Doctor shrugged and leaned over to rest his chin on her shoulder. "Please forgive me."

River stared away, listening. She understood, now, why he'd acted so horrified to see her. He'd been trying to protect her. She twisted in his arms so they were facing each other.

"Oh, Sweetie. Of course I forgive you." River smiled and hugged him. "It's not as if you're the only one at fault here. I didn't exactly protest, did I? In fact, I seem to remember having been quite provocative." The Doctor squirmed, not looking at her.

"Erm… that actually wasn't all you. The… I might have contributed more than a little to you willingness." The Doctor blushed and looked down.

River stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out… oh. Yes. That. Subconsciously, she raised her hand to her neck and felt along the base of her collarbone for the bite mark, now nearly healed, and ran her tongue along her teeth, tasting the raw flesh. Then she dropped her hand and swallowed.

"Still. What's done is done." She turned to him and wrapped an arm around him, burying her face in his shoulder. She sniffed. "You smell nice. Like…"

The Doctor wrapped an arm around her as well, and kissed the top of her head.

"I… you should probably get some sleep. You must be tired." Before River could protest, he had scooped her up and tucked her into the bad they set on. He paused and smiled down at her for a second, then raced out the door, which he closed with a sharp _clack_, signifying that she had no choice but to rest. River snuggled down and pulled the blanket up, and the temperature in the room dropped to keep her comfortable. She smiled sleepily at the TARDIS in thanks, then drifted off.

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**Post-note: So, thanks for reading, please review, do not own, etc. And now, for the Chapter 1 summary.**

**Summary: River runs into the TARDIS intent on hiding from the things she's been fighting with (no idea what, just something to set the scene). Unfortunately, she walks in on an extraordinarily libidinous Doctor, who had meant to stay away from her during this time. So, basically, his instincts kick in, and he jumps his wife (who is not entirely unwilling) and, with the aid of a few Time Lord quirks, succeeds in taking her virginity, impregnating her, and driving her to an amazing and long-lasting climax which causes her to black out. Later on, she wakes up dressed in a nightie and in bed. The Doctor gives her something for the pain which also knocks her out, and then the story picks up again in the above. :D**

**P.S. : So, that's that. One last thing though. After this one, I'm kinda stuck on where to take this story. I could go the way this story seems to point, or I could go somewhere else. Tell me what you think, maybe give me ideas if you have any. I have lots of material, and I'll try to be flexible. Okay, that's it for real this time. Bye.**


	3. Parting

**A/N: So, here's chapter 3. Sorry it's so short, it's more of a transition chapter than anything else. There will be more soon, I promise, but it will be set months from now. I just had to throw this out there, because otherwise... well, let's just say it wouldn't make much sense otherwise. I do not own Doctor Who, although I wish I did. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy, and... Oh yeah! Reviews! I love reviews. And the more reviews I get, the more likely I am to update. So here it is, enjoy, more to come soon**

Chapter 3: Parting

Finally, after three days more spent in the TARDIS recovering and flirting with the Doctor, River convinces him to take her back to StormCage.

"Sweetie, I'll be fine, I promise. Trust me. I live there, it's my home."

And finally, the Doctor relented, landing her back in StormCage, where she was immediately and forcibly escorted into her cell by armed guards. She had warned the Doctor of this beforehand, so he didn't race out and attack the guards for being rough with his wife. Finally, the TARDIs was gone, and River was left to contemplate the events of the past week.

Subconsciously, she lowered a hand to rest on her belly. Her completely flat belly. River sighed. She stood up, and reached into her bag for the real pregnancy test, glancing around guiltily. She felt bad for lying to the Doctor about the results, but she would have felt worse still if he knew. River shuddered as she remembered her deception.

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River carefully tossed the plastic stick into the wastebasket, making sure that it landed at an angle which drew the eye. River had decided that second day that she had to make the Doctor think that she had lost the baby. So, she hid the original test and rinsed one in the sink. When it showed up negative (River wasn't sure what she would have done if the tap water had been positive), River placed it where the Doctor was sure to check. Then, she went out into the TARDIS and asked it to hide her in the library for a few hours. The TARDIS complied, and when the Doctor found her hours later, she made sure that her books on pregnancy were well hidden. He found her reading Pride and Prejudice.

"River?" he asked nervously, brushing his hair from his eyes. "Are you all right?" River looked up and smiled at him, careful to keep her lips soft and her eyes just a bit unfocused. She hadn't blinked for a while, and so when she looked up, her eyes shone with tears.

And the Doctor simply sat down next to her, took her book, and began to read it to her, assuming that the tears were for a baby lost, the child that had been conceived in the tradition of the Time Lords and now was no more. And River let him.

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River was shaken from her reverie by a guard passing by. Quickly, she hid the test down the front of her shirt. She didn't need _them, _of all people, to know. She sat down on her bunk and filled in her diary. Then, she settled down to wait.

**A/N: Hope you liked it. This'll make more sense when I update, I think. Also, who's excited for Asylum of the Daleks? Three more days! I can barely wait- and I think my family is getting annoyed with the way I now randomly shout "Saturday!" **

**Okay, that's all for now. Byeee!**


	4. Fighting the Past

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. I've had stuff going on. School and such. Anyways, enjoy!**

Chapter 3: Fighting The Past

River dodged yet another laser blast, then spun and pressed her back against the Doctor's, waving her gun.

"River? How is it over there?"

"They're all dead."

"Really?"

"No!" Quickly, she wrapped an arm around his waist and yanked him sideways onto the ground, narrowly avoiding a blast which nonetheless covered both of them in soot.

River shifted as the dust cleared to keep herself from leaning too hard on her abdomen. She knew from many sleepless nights that if she did, she would pay for it later.

Finally, the dust cleared, revealing a smoking, empty battlefield. The Doctor pushed River gently off of himself and stood up, dusting his clothes off and holding out a hand to help her up.

"You alright?" he asked. River smiled and clasped his hand.

"I'm fine, Sweetie. Are you?" When he nodded, she spun on her heal and set off for the TARDIS. "Better be getting back soon, they'll be wondering where I am."

The Doctor sighed and watched her back. Why was she always so eager to go back? He just wanted to spend a little quality time with his wife. He shook his head and followed.

By the time the Doctor made it back to the TARDIS, River had set the StormCage coordinates and was leaning against a railing, waiting for him. He smiles hesitantly at her, and she smiles back and leans in to kiss him lightly on the lips before pulling back.

"Ready to go?"

The Doctor looked at her for a moment, wondering where in their time stream she was. He had been married for a little over a month now, but she hadn't once mentioned it or tried to act on it. Shaking his head, he pushed the thought away and focused on her question.

"Yep. " He smiled and pulled a lever, and the TARDIS shook and spun into the vortex. As he turned back to her, he glimpsed her pulling her hand hastily from her stomach. He wondered at it, but didn't ask. He trusted her enough to tell her what he needed to know.

"You know what?" Suddenly, the Doctor reached out and spun a dial, stopping the TARDIS mid-flight. "What do you say we go somewhere nice for a change? I'll make it in the past so they won't miss you." Without waiting for an answer, he went to work. River smiled faintly and set her hand against her stomach again. As soon as he stopped moving, she moved her hand back to the rail and leaned against it, bracing herself. The TARDIS whirred, much more willingly then before, jostling and shaking. The Doctor whooped, and then the TARDIS stopped. The Doctor grabbed River by the hand and pulled her to the door, chattering excitedly. River tuned him out, making comments now and then so he wouldn't feel ignored, and looked around in awe at the beautiful red and silver garden he led her into. She turned to smile at him and caught the tail end of his sentence.

"-soaring silver colonnades! Took your parents here once, though that didn't really work out so well. Turns out, Apalapachia will have a plague in about, oh, a hundred years, and your mother got trapped inside the treatment center. But actually-" He went on and on, and River laughed and followed him. These gardens really were quite beautiful at sunset, close to the way she would have imagined Gallifrey. That train of thought, as so many did, led to thoughts of her secret. Her baby.

It had been almost five months now since she and the Doctor had consummated their marriage, and she had been sick for about a week after he dropped her off, achingly, violently, chillingly sick. However, after that one week spent in the StormCage infirmary, everything had stopped. She felt fine, and her belly stayed firm and flat. She wasn't sure if that meant she had miscarried, and even though it scared her, she hadn't been able to convince herself that another test on the TARDIS would go unnoticed by the Doctor. And she most definitely was _not_ going to turn to the StormCage guards for a pregnancy test. So, she'd tried to forget it, acted like it had never happened. Which turned out to be a good thing, as she had since only run into the Doctor's from her past.

River sighed and pushed those thoughts away. Here she was, safe, and with her Doctor, in a beautiful garden. Why dwell on the past, even if it was his future? Suddenly, she didn't want to be here anymore, in her parents' past. Why dwell on the past, after all, when there was always the present. She walked over to where the Doctor was busy examining a stone fountain, and gently pulled on his arm.

"Can we leave, Sweetie? Go get some chips, maybe? Haven't had a good chip in ages. Prison food, you know." She smiled, and the Doctor barely protested as she steered him back into the TARDIS.

Later, alone on her bed, she rested her hand on her stomach while she paged through her diary, laughing at some parts and crying at others. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She got out the psychic paper and sent the Doctor a message: 'Fancy a night out?'

**A/N: So. Thanks for reading, hope you liked it. Review for more! Offer ideas, critiques, anything. I'm working on Chapter 5 now. That's all for now, folks. **


	5. Late Night Tea

**A/N: *hides* please don't hate me, I'm sorry this last chapter has been so long in coming. I've been busy IRL, but that's no excuse for taking this long, and I'm sorry.**

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River woke unexpectedly to a pain in her middle. She frowned. She'd been getting a lot of cramps recently, and the only thing that really helped was tea. Sighing, she climbed out of bed and padded down the TARDIS hall to the kitchen to fix herself a cuppa. Once she had her tea, she wandered into the console room.

The Doctor was still up, as usual, fiddling with some faulty wiring that kept sparking. "You know, she might not like it that you keep fiddling around with her," she remarked, taking a gulp of tea. The Doctor looked up from behind his goggles and grinned.

"I'm just exploring. All those years, and I never realized she was sentient. Do you know, when I first borrowed her, I could barely fly her?" he commented, tightening a bolt.

River winced as another cramp shot through her. This one was stronger, as if someone was stretching an elastic band around her belly. She shook it off and took another swallow of her tea. "Sounds like you," she joked. She winced again and dropped a hand to her stomach. That really hurt, whatever it was.

The Doctor frowned, following her hand. "Everything alright?" he asked, eyes sharp.

"Fine," she said, nodding. She turned to go back to the kitchen to replace her mug- or maybe get more tea- when another cramp overtook her, this one so strong that she doubled over in pain. Behind her, she heard the Doctor leap up from under the console glass floor and hurry over.

"River?" he asked, voice urgent. "What's wrong, what's happening?"

River groaned and straightened a bit, hand still on her belly. "Get- get my dad," she gasped. "He- I need him."

The Doctor nodded and rushed to the console, then hurried back to brace River against the handrail as the TARDIS took off. It materialised in Amy's back garden, and the Doctor rushed out. Minutes later he returned, Amy and Rory in tow. He looked panicked. "What's going on?!"

River groaned and bent double as another pain shot through her. Rory ignored the other two and hurried over, guiding her to sit on the ground near the console. "River, I need you to breathe for me," he ordered. "Where does it hurt?"

River sucked in air as though it hurt to do so, and squeezed her eyes shut. She touched her belly with her fingertips. "Right here."

Rory gently felt her abdomen and frowned. That... wasn't right. "Doctor, have you got some sort of- sonogram machine, or something? I need to see what's inside her."

The Doctor nodded and raced away, returning a minute later with something that looked for all the world like a tablet. "Just use it like you're taking a video," he explained, handing it to Rory. He nodded and turned to River, scanning her abdomen quickly. Then he set it aside, nodding. He looked at River, then asked her a quiet question which the Doctor couldn't hear. She nodded, and Rory motioned Amy over to help.

"What is it, what's going on?" The Doctor asked, for once completely out of his element. River grabbed her mother's hand and squeezed it as another cramp shot through her, much stronger now. When it was over, she sat back, gasping.

"She's pregnant," Amy said curtly to the Doctor, helping River sit upright. "She's gone into labor; why didn't you _tell_ us?" She scowled up at the Doctor for a minute, before River shook her head and set a hand on Amy's shoulder.

"It's my fault, he didn't know. I- I didn't even know, I thought I'd lost the baby, I didn't tell him," she said softly, glancing up at the Doctor. Amy shook her head.

"You two. Someone needs to teach you how to tell each other things!" Rory and Amy helped River stand, and Amy turned back to the Doctor. "Where's the clinic? I'm sure the TARDIS has one."

The Doctor led the way, and the next two hours were a blur as River worked through the cramps and cravings- side effect of Time Baby labor- and Rory tried to sort out the differences in physiology between humans and Time Lords. Amy held River's hand and cheered her on, and the Doctor rushed about throwing out random facts about childbirth till Amy sent him out to prepare a nursery. "We'll call you when she's done giving birth!"

* * *

Three hours later, River lay back, exhausted, as Rory cut the umbilical cord and cleaned her baby off before laying it on her chest. "It's a boy," he said quietly, smiling before he and Amy started to clean up. River, ignoring them, wrapped her arms around her son and gently ran a finger down his cheek.

"He's perfect," she murmured softly as he turned his head to try and suck on her finger. Then she frowned and looked over at her parents, just as Amy returned with the Doctor. "Shouldn't he be crying?" she asked in concern. The Doctor hurried over and peered down at her and the baby.

"Time Lord babies don't when they're first born. That comes later." He looked over at the Ponds. "Rory, Amy, do you know what day it is? We're parked in your back garden, and little one here need's a birthday."

Rory checked his watch. "April 5, 2013. Sorry, I wasn't looking at the clock when he was born."

The Doctor waved him off. "The TARDIS can help with that, she's good with that sort of thing. Well. She has to be, she's a time machine." He grinned and shook his head, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to his son's head. When he looked up at River, there were tears in his eyes, and he looked sad.

River didn't notice. She was too busy committing everything about her son's face to memory, from his peach fuzz to the way his tiny lips moved to his closed eyes and slender, barely there eyebrows. He was still turning his head, mouth looking for food, and River finally realized what she was supposed to do. "Mum? Can you help me?" She waved Amy over, and together they managed to get her son feeding. River smiled up at Amy. "Wasn't so hard, with you here to help me," she joked.

Amy shook her head and looked down at her grandson. "You realize you're going to have to name him."

River blinked. "I knew I'd forgotten something!

* * *

**A/N: So I hope that extremely long chapter in some way makes up for the long wait. I had several different drafts I was going to use, but I lost my USB and still haven't found it (yes, it's been seven months). Let's say Time Babies are in the womb for seven months, and I was aiming for chronology, or... something. There's more to this chapter, but again, I'm going to split it off here, before the angst gets started. Because there will be angst. Also I have to think of an awesome name for little Mr. Song there. :D **


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